24 and 25 August 2012
Project Arts Centre
Temple Bar, Dublin 2
8.00pm
Tickets €20/15 available from projectartscentre.ie and 01 881 9613
Book before 15 August and save 25%.
Two new operas by the Irish composers Benedict Schlepper-Connolly and Garrett Sholdice — performed back-to-back on each night — combine music, film and dance to create an experience of feeling and atmosphere. Their idea of opera is a truly contemporary one: minimal, intuitive, immersive.
Recueillement from Garrett Sholdice on Vimeo.
Benedict Schlepper-Connolly’s Heimat, which features the choreographer and dancer Liv O’Donoghue, focuses on the experience of modern-day nomads — the emigrant, the drifter, the commuter. Fast and loud, the performance layers interviews, film and song to reveal ideas about rootedness and belonging.
Garrett Sholdice’s Recueillement, as the French title intimates, is a more gentle, contemplative piece, with choreography by Silja Thomsen, film by Krishan Hukam and the mezzo-soprano Michelle O’Rourke. Imagine dusk, two women, the ritual of Javanese gamelan music, the yearning words of Charles Baudelaire, a sense of changing light.
Performances come from the Irish mezzo-soprano Michelle O’Rourke and Ergodos Musicians, a flexible ensemble of instruments and voices, including some of Ireland’s most brilliant performers, in this case the cellist Kate Ellis, and the New York-based pianist Isabelle O’Connell. Ergodos Musicians’ performances are outstanding for their subtlety, attention to detail, and innovative approaches to programming.
Two Operas launch will take place at the Odessa Club in Dublin on 2 August at 6pm, with preview performances of Heimat and Recueillement given by Kate Ellis.
Heimat:
Kate Ellis, cello
Isabelle O’Connell, piano
Benedict Schlepper-Connolly, guitar, voice, film
Liv O’Donoghue, dance
Recueillement:
Kate Ellis, cello
Isabelle O’Connell, piano
Michelle O’Rourke, mezzo-soprano
Silja Thomsen, dance
Krisan Hukam, film
Benedict Schlepper-Connolly, production director
Valerie Francis, sound engineer
Aedín Cosgrave, lighting designer
Tickets: www.projectartscentre.ie and 01 881 9613
